Minotaurs
Back to Races ---- Buildings ''Ziggurat'' The Ziggurat was the keep of choice for the primitive races back in WBC1. When the races were given their own unique buildings, the Minotaurs were the ones who adopted the Ziggurat. The Zigguart is quite a large building and needs a decent amount of space to be built. It produces the Minotaurs' builders and holds skills that are needed to unlock a few of their units in other buildings, as well as a couple of skills that powerup all their units. Hand of Sartek: Adds +3 combat to all Minotaurs. Axe of Sartek: Allows the production of Axe Throwers. (Requires level 2) Wind of Sartek: Adds +3 speed to all MInotaurs. (Requires level 3) Rage of Sartek: Allows the production of Catapults and Battering Rams. (Requires level 4) Spirit of Sartek: Allows the production of Minotaur Kings. (Requires level 5) ''Arena'' Arenas produce the more common Minotaur units, as such, you'll be building quite a lot of them. Fortunately, they're relatively average in size, if not smaller, so you wont need to expand the boundries of your base much to slot these in. Training: +10 XP for newly produced units. ''Lookout'' Lookouts are typical scout buildings, offering view range bonuses and able to attack aerial units. However, they're no base defense tower and only have just enough offenses to ward away basic flying troops. You'll only ever need to build one of these if you are playing with fog of war or/and hidden map enabled, as they don't offer anything to the race other than view range bonuses. Eagle Eye 1: +2 view range to all troops and buildings. Eagle Eye 2: +3 view range to all troops and buildings. (Requires Eagle Eye 1) Eagle Eye 2: +4 view range to all troops and buildings. (Requires Eagle Eye 2) Farseeing: Removes all fog of war and hidden map. (Requires Eagle Eye 3) ''Ironworks'' The Ironworks is the typical Blacksmith style building, following the generic pattern of offering armor and damage upgrades, as well as producing the race's siege weapons. The MInotaurs' damage upgrades are the best in the entire game, offering +20 to their basic troops, giving them a whopping 30+ damage! Such power allows the basic Minotaurs to roll right through infantry and buildings alike. However, unlike other races, the armor and damage upgrades from the Ironworks are specific to Minotaurs in the sense that no other type of unit will be affected by the upgrades. This limits the amazing Iron Clad Horns and Iron Shod Hooves to just 2 units in the entire game. Still, the power they bring to their basic infantry makes these upgrades worthwhile and should always be something of a priority to get, making this building one of the first you should build - after a few Arenas, of course. Iron Clad Horns: +10 melee damage for Minotaurs. Iron Shod Hooves: +20 melee damage for Minotaurs. (Requires Iron Clad Horns) Shield of Sartek 1: +5 armor for Minotaurs. Shield of Sartek 2: +10 armor for Minotaurs. (Requires Shield of Sartek 1) ''Pen'' Pens are pretty basic with only one key feature that stops them being a bland building - the can produce Sheep! Sheep can be eaten by every Minotaur (including their Hero and Titan) which restores 20HP and cures them of any illness. This can help make those more expensive Minotaur units live on to fight another round. As Sheep are produced pretty quickly, you can just have one set to Sheep production as your units make their way back home after a long days fight, and have a nice meal ready for them. They also produce Basilisks that can turn enemies into stone to use. They do take a while to produce, through, so if you plan on using them rather commonly, then you'll probably need quite a few of these buildings. ''Ale Store'' The Ale Store is purely an offensive research building and, as such, you'll only ever need to build one of these. You also require one of these to produce Gnolls, so there is some incentive to keep the building standing once all researches have been obtained. The researches themselves make your already powerful Minotaurs even more threatening by allowing them to hit faster. Morale 1: +3 Morale to your Hero. Morale 2: +6 Morale to your Hero. (Requires Morale 1) Morale 3: +9 Morale to your Hero. (Requires Morale 2) Dwarven Brew: Adds an interactive ability to most Minotaurs. It costs 20 gold to activate and when used, the unit's combat and speed raise by 4 points for 2 minutes. ''Altar of Sartek'' Another research focused building, but this one also produces the Minotaurs' Titan - the Skull of Sartek. Because of this, you need to place the building carefully with a lot of room around it so the Skull of Sartek when get stuck in your base after it pops out. Also, be sure to obtain all the researches out of the building before starting the production of the Titan, otherwise you'll either need to wait a long time before you can eventually get a hold of them, or build another Alter of Sartek, which is not advised as you'll need all the building room you can get come tier 4. Summon Mana 1: Mana regeneration in your army is at 150% of normal. Summon Mana 2: Mana regeneration in your army is at 200% of normal. (Requires Summon Mana 1) Summon Mana 3: Mana regeneration in your army is at 300% of normal. (Requires Summon Mana 2) Berserker: Adds an interactive ability to most Minotaurs. When activated, the selected unit(s) are set on fire, which causes damage to the unit over time but the unit also gains +4 speed and +6 combat. ''Eyrie'' Every race has a building that can produce flyers, and for the Minotaurs it's the Eyrie. The Minotaurs don't get any researches from them and none of their other researches affect their flying units, leaving them as raw as they come. Their choice of flyers is pretty poor, with the Frost Dragon being the only exception - Bats are downright terrible, the Griffon is only average with no special features, and the Storm Dragon is the least effective of all the Dragons. Fortunately, all is not lost as the Frost Dragon's ability to constantly freeze multiple enemy units makes them one of the best non-titan units in the entire game. In version 1.03.1 and onward, Eyries, Broods and Nests became available at tier 2, instead of 3. But their upgrades remain tier 4 and 5 respectively. ''Henge'' The Henge is a terrifying building to look upon when you're playing against Minotaurs, simply because it's the birth place of Minotaur Kings! Unfortunately for the Minotaur player, these buildings are utterly huge, so finding enough room to build them is not easy. Most the time you'll find yourself extending the boundaries of your base just to try and slot one of these buildings in. If you plan on building more, then good luck trying to protect the large area they cover. Shaman: +10 damage for Goblin Shaman and Minotaur Shaman. ''Tower (Minotaur) The Minotaurs' tower is rather good, possessing great HP and respectable damage. They don't take up much room, either, allowing you to fit them in around your base without much hassle. Just be sure not to place them directly next to each other to prevent splash damage attacks from the likes of Dragons and Catapults hitting them both at the same time. Note: Beware when garrisoning them with Axe Throwers, the axe attack they acquire cannot hit targets directly next to them and causes the "carry through" to always miss. This will lead to the tower being made offensively useless once a melee unit makes direct contact with it. Units ''Thrall - Primitive Builder Thralls are the base builder unit for the Minotaurs and Barbarians. Thralls are slaves that many other races including the Orcs, Dark Elves, Undead and Daemons utilise (via a Slavehorde ability. If they are produced this way they cost gold and are produced instantly en mass). As they can be summoned instantly or produced quickly by Barbarians and Minotaurs, filling mines is relatively quick and/or inexpensive compared to most other builders. ''Minotaur - Minotaur Basic Infantry'' The Minotaur is the basic infantry of the Minotaur race. At its initial production, it is reasonably tough albeit quite expensive. However once fully upgraded, it can be a very powerful melee unit that should be feared. The minotaur can go beserk and drunk which makes Minotaurs incredibly dangerous, massively boosting their speed and combat at the cost of 1 damage per second. ''Axe Thrower - Minotaur Missile Unit'' The Axe Thrower is the Minotaur's basic missile unit. Comparatively to missile units of other races, they are quite tough but have a low range that can limit their effectiveness. Similarly to the Barbarian, the Axe Thrower's projectile can pass through multiple enemies, making them good at firing upon enclosed enemy armies. A unique ranged damage type in slashing means that the Axe Thrower requires no upgrades to deal respectable damage to buildings. ''Basilisk - Monstrous Missile Unit'' A unique (and comparatively cheap) unit for the Minotaurs, giving them the ability to gather Stone much faster. This allows the Minotaurs to produce Gnolls en-masse and construct the particularly Stone-heavy buildings easier such as Arenas. The cold damage Basilisks provide is potentially quite a powerful weapon. The resistance to slashing, very high armour and resistance stats allow it to tank plenty of combat action (but keep in mind their vulnerability to crushing). ''Gnoll - Monstrous Assassin'' Gnolls are relatively average melee units (in every stat) which are very easy to produce if the Minotaur player is using Basilisks (since Gnolls cost only stone, they can be spammed so long as the Minotaur player has enough Basilisks or stone production). They add little to the Minotaur race power wise, but their real distinction is in their ability: Assassination. A group of Gnolls can easily be used to scare off all but the most bold or daring of heroes as they will not risk the chance for their hero to be assassinated. Other than this, Gnolls may also be used to harass and take out particularly tough enemy units. Usually, later on the Minotaurs will have better options such as Minotaur Kings for this. ''Catapult - Siege Weapon'' The Catapult is a siege weapon capable of immense power. It costs comparatively little, takes almost no time to produce considering it's a siege unit, and has incredible damage and range. Catapults may not be particularly tough and are vulnerable to air attacks but almost anything on the ground should fear this weapon despite its weakness. The special ability of the Catapult is its splash damage, which equates to throwing Giants at the enemy at an incredibly long range. Combine this with its cheap economical properties and you get a unit which literally dominates the ground metagame. ''Battering Ram - Siege Weapon'' Battering Rams are basic, slow siege weapons which can take a lot of damage before they are destroyed. Their terrible combat stat renders them useless in combat, but they are capable of levelling buildings (although it must be noted that having 1 combat vs buildings means it will often get misses against them as well, since buildings have a hidden combat stat for combat calculations). ''Minotaur Shaman - Minotaur Spellcaster'' The Minotaur Shaman is a powerful spellcaster unit with access to destructive and dangerous buffing spells. He can effectively decimate both crowds and singular enemies using Ring of Fire and Pillar of Fire, and upgrades allow him to deal more damage with his useful base-destroying fire attack. The Minotaur Shaman can also make nearby allies beserk, which can be used to surprise opponents and decimate their forces if used correctly. That said, the Shaman should be kept away from the front line of battle due to physical weakness. ''Minotaur King'' ''- Minotaur General'' The Minotaur King is controversially the most fearsome of all generals in the game. There is no non-titan, non-hero unit that deals as much damage as a fully upgraded Minotaur King. On top of that utterly devastating attack damage, he has pretty good combat, great hits (actually drawing with the T Rex for best non-titan, non-hero, non-dragon unit hits), ignores armour (even of buildings) and causes fear in nearby enemy units. There is relatively little that can directly counter a Minotaur King other than a large army, a wall of ranged-units (requiring melee fodder support), a highly upgraded tower or a Barbarian Reaver. ''Skull of Sartek - Minotaur Titan'' Despite being a titan, the Skull of Sartek seems underwhelming in comparison to the raw power of the rest of the Minotaur race. A gang of Minotaur Kings, for example, are cheaper, faster to produce and cause more destruction. However, the Skull of Sartek's saving grace lies within its ranged attack as Minotaurs have rather poor ranged offenses and the Skull of Sartek can fill this gap with its powerful electric attack. Although not the best typing for a ranged attack and only has an average range of 8, it's still the best the Minotaurs have to offer and is more than enough to strike such units like Dragons and other Titans for heavy damage before being quickly finished off by the rest of your army. Like all ranged units (including other ranged titans), they crumble in melee and are easily swamped. Fortunately for the Skull of Sartek, it's found in a race full of powerful melee units that'll ensure the Skull of Sartek remains out of danger even in the heat of a large confrontation, prolonging its life and making it a Titan that is sure to stick around. Strategy Overall The Minotaurs are one of the most dangerous races available in WBC3. With natural access to the best magic sphere (Pyromancy), a balanced mix of very tough, powerful and high cost units and the extremely peculiar benefit of building and eating sheep to regain health, opponents will be hard-pressed to find a hole in Minotaur defenses. Carnage and destruction only aids them further as Minotaurs also have numerous ways to gather free resources. Whether it's from toppling enemy buildings for metal, turning Basilisk victims into stone, or assassinating enemy units for gold, they certainly wont be hard pressed by the expenses of their units in a reckless game. ''The Race'' Units Minotaurs have a small but adequate selection of units. The upgrades available to these units make the race shine. Unlike most other races, the first combat unit available (the Minotaur) will remain a critical component of your force all the way until you launch your final assault on your opponent's base. With improved morale, combat, and dwarven ale/berserker skills, the simple minotaur infantry unit becomes a rampaging force of destruction. Gather a small bundle of these, pass them a beer and light them on fire - then try your best to steer them towards the enemy base, where they will demolish every tower, enemy unit, and building in sight. Minotaur Kings are the best tank unit among the generals available in the game, but like the support units, ultimately they are not necessary for the final assault either, although they most certainly can help with their nuclear 120 armour piercing slashing damage (the target can be as resistant or as armoured as it likes, only combat is able to save it because the ignore armour ability just cleaves straight through all resistances whether they're on a unit or building). If the enemy have Dragons and any Titans, Minotaur Kings counter them so ridiculously well they'll never bother spending that much resources again (unless they somehow have an entire flock of Dragons). Gnolls are something of a novelty, useful particularly for engaging or scaring away enemy heroes, who will not want to risk the chance of being assassinated (if you have loads of Basilisks, getting essentially free Gnolls is pretty useful should you need a bit of swarming). Other than that (and if you don't use Basilisks), Gnolls are completely and utterly pointless to quite an amazing extent. Minotaur Axethrowers leave something to be desired in the range department, and are usually not worth using unless you're either battling against a crushing resistant race (like the Orcs) or a swarm playstyle race where the axes can travel through multiple enemies. Minotaur Shamans are powerful when upgraded and can provide an alternative means to berserk your Minotaurs if you haven't already researched Berserker. Other than that, Shamans provide a supportive role to the Minotaur army. A few support units (Axe Throwers, Basilisks or Shamans) are adviseable to engage enemy fliers, but the siege units are hardly needed. Upgraded Minotaurs nearly always perform a better job, are cheaper and take less unit cap up than Battering Rams and Catapults should only really be used in defence or against a swarm race due to their really low speed. Basilisks are an interesting unit for the Minotaurs, they provide some nice cold damage and petrification bonuses at relatively low cost (60 Gold). Keep in mind however, that Basilisks do use up 2 unit cap, so it is advisable to keep a leash on their production. Lastly, keep a pile of sheep available to patch up any of your Minotaur forces that survive. If you are feeling particularly insane, you can use Sheep as fodder for a wave of Minotaur Shamans and/or Basilisks. Buildings The Minotaur buildings don't offer much others don't. The hardest part of the game may be the very start, as Arenas cost 100 Gold and 200 Stone (quite a lot for your main infantry building), Thralls are poor at constructing buildings and so they usually take a long time to build (not to mention the cost of Minotaurs is 100 metal, so you'd better hope to start off with a truck-load of resources at the start of the game). That's not to say that the Minotaurs are in any way rushable, but they may find it more difficult to control areas of the map without quick access and support of basic infantry units (which many other races usually get). Access to mana acceleration research isn't possible until HQ level 3 (which is quite early, especially for such a physical-based race). The main HQ building is one of the largest buildings in the game (which may prove troublesome, especially in small or cramped maps), but be thankful that you really won't need to build any more than 2. Minotaur towers offer a good amount of both hits and damage, making them easier to defend than most towers. Basilisks can really help to construct a wide range of Minotaur buildings as well, so if you are in the need of Stone don't hold back on producing a few of them. ''Heroes'' As if the drunken burning minotaurs weren't fun enough, the Minotaur hero has access to one of the best magic spheres in the game, Pyromancy (Soul Flame is great for buffing your units prior to an assault). Accordingly, Pyromancer is a good option, but since the 1.03.24 unofficial patch, the new Monk class is the best fit. The Minotaur Monk is one of the best melee combat heroes in the game, benefitting from a heavy hit and ever increasing attack speed to land more and more of them. Also, another good class to recognise is the Warrior. Compared to the Monk, the Warrior is tougher, more resilient and regenerates faster (depending on what skills you invest in) but suffers lower attack damage, attack speed and movement speed. A Chieftain is also possible, but if you go for a Chieftain, it may be best to make it a Fighter/Supporter (possibly invest in Charisma and Morale attributes and skills as well as Mighty Blow) since the Monk is better at attacking. Note: the Illusion Transform spell does not work on Sheep. However, that does not mean there aren't other abusable strategies such as using Call the Dead on piles of Sheep bones (the Sheep of which had been fed to Minotaurs), or mass producing Sheep and pressing Ctrl + D to suicide the Sheep and then using Call the Dead on the massive pile of bones for a large army of Skeletons (can use them as arrow/tower fodder whilst a wave of Minotaur Shamans, Basilisks and/or Catapults lay siege). The Mutation spell can be used very effectively to turn enemies into food for your Minotaurs. Counters *The minotaur units and researches usually cost a lot of resources. Make sure to remove mines from their possession at all costs. *Minotaur units tend to take a great deal of time to produce. If you know a guard point has no troops in or around it, it's a safe bet that there won't be any reinforcements produced by any buildings there. Watch out for any minotaur armies hidden on the map, so they cannot defend the guard post. *If a group of drunken, berserk Minotaurs is headed your way, physical combat is not an option (due to drunk, berserk level 3 Minotaurs having around 20 combat and speed). Instead, use some fodder and loads of missile units. *As with Barbarians, Minotaurs have the Thrall builder, the worst in the game (slow builder with slow speed, though he is at least created quickly) yet no Slavehorde ability. Add to this the fact that Arenas are expensive and Ziggurats are large; while not necessarily a very rushable race due to their strong units, they will certainly struggle early game, like Barbarians. Keeping the pressure on a Minotaur player might mean an early game-over for him/her. Lore